A Ligand-Based Drug Design. Discovery of 4‑Trifluoromethyl-7,8-pyranocoumarin as a Selective Inhibitor of Human Cytochrome P450 1A2

In humans, cytochrome P450 1A2 is the major enzyme metabolizing environmental arylamines or heterocyclic amines into carcinogens. Since evidence shows that planar triangle-shaped molecules are capable of selectively inhibiting P450 1A2, 16 triangular flavone, and coumarin derivatives were designed and synthesized for these studies. Among these compounds, 7,8-furanoflavone time-dependently inhibits P450 1A2 with a <i>K</i>_I value of 0.44 μM. With a 5 min preincubation in the presence of NADPH, 0.01 μM 7,8-furanoflavone completely inactivates P450 1A2 but does not influence the activities of P450s 1A1 and 1B1. Another target compound, 7,8-pyrano-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin, is found to be a competitive inhibitor, showing high selectivity for the inhibition of P450 1A2 with a <i>K</i>_i of 0.39 μM, 155- and 52-fold lower than its <i>K</i>_i values against P450s 1A1 and 1B1, respectively. In yeast AhR activation assays, 7,8-pyrano-4-trifluoromethyl­coumarin does not activate aryl hydrocarbon receptor when the concentration is lower than 1 μM, suggesting that this compound would not up-regulate AhR-caused P450 enzyme expression. In-cell P450 1A2 inhibition assays show that 7,8-pyrano-4-trifluoromethyl­coumarin decreases the MROD activity in HepG2 cells at concentrations higher than 1 μM. Thus, using 7,8-pyrano-4-trifluoromethyl­coumarin, a selective and specific P450 1A2 action suppression could be achieved, indicating the potential for the development of P450 1A2-targeting cancer preventive agents

A Ligand-Based Drug Design. Discovery of 4‑Trifluoromethyl-7,8-pyranocoumarin as a Selective Inhibitor of Human Cytochrome P450 1A2

In humans, cytochrome P450 1A2 is the major enzyme metabolizing environmental arylamines or heterocyclic amines into carcinogens. Since evidence shows that planar triangle-shaped molecules are capable of selectively inhibiting P450 1A2, 16 triangular flavone, and coumarin derivatives were designed and synthesized for these studies. Among these compounds, 7,8-furanoflavone time-dependently inhibits P450 1A2 with a <i>K</i>_I value of 0.44 μM. With a 5 min preincubation in the presence of NADPH, 0.01 μM 7,8-furanoflavone completely inactivates P450 1A2 but does not influence the activities of P450s 1A1 and 1B1. Another target compound, 7,8-pyrano-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin, is found to be a competitive inhibitor, showing high selectivity for the inhibition of P450 1A2 with a <i>K</i>_i of 0.39 μM, 155- and 52-fold lower than its <i>K</i>_i values against P450s 1A1 and 1B1, respectively. In yeast AhR activation assays, 7,8-pyrano-4-trifluoromethyl­coumarin does not activate aryl hydrocarbon receptor when the concentration is lower than 1 μM, suggesting that this compound would not up-regulate AhR-caused P450 enzyme expression. In-cell P450 1A2 inhibition assays show that 7,8-pyrano-4-trifluoromethyl­coumarin decreases the MROD activity in HepG2 cells at concentrations higher than 1 μM. Thus, using 7,8-pyrano-4-trifluoromethyl­coumarin, a selective and specific P450 1A2 action suppression could be achieved, indicating the potential for the development of P450 1A2-targeting cancer preventive agents